bowdlerisation

Thân thiện

A librarian carefully performs a bowdlerisation of a classic novel for a school edition.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • The act of removing or altering parts of a text considered offensive or indecent: A bowdlerisation is the process of censoring a piece of writing by deleting or modifying material deemed improper.
   • A version of a text that has been censored in this way: A bowdlerisation is also the resulting text itself, which has been expurgated.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Act):

  • The bowdlerisation of classic novels for Victorian audiences often removed entire scenes.
  • Critics argued that the film adaptation suffered from excessive bowdlerisation, stripping the story of its power.

• Noun (Resulting Text):

  • This edition is not the original play but a weak bowdlerisation.
  • She compared the original manuscript with the 19th-century bowdlerisation to study the changes.

Advanced Usage

• The term often carries a negative connotation, implying that the censorship is excessive, prudish, or damages the artistic integrity of the original work.
• It is frequently used in literary, cinematic, and academic criticism.
  • The scholar decried the bowdlerisation of history textbooks, calling it a form of intellectual dishonesty.

Variants and Related Words

• Bowdlerize (verb): To remove or alter parts of (a text) considered vulgar or objectionable.
  • The publisher decided to bowdlerize the novel for a younger audience.
• Bowdlerizer (noun): A person who bowdlerizes.
• Expurgation (noun): A synonym for the act of bowdlerizing; a more formal term.

Synonyms

• Censorship: The suppression or prohibition of speech or writing.
• Expurgation: The act of removing objectionable material from a text.
• Sanitization: Making something acceptable by removing unpleasant or offensive elements.

Antonyms

• Unabridged version: A complete, uncensored text.
• Restoration: The act of returning something to its original, uncensored state.

Word Origin

• Derived from the name of Dr. Thomas Bowdler, who published an expurgated edition of Shakespeare's works in 1818, titled . The term has since been applied to any similar act of censorship.

Học thuật

Noun

1. the act of deleting or modifying all passages considered to be indecent
2. written material that has been bowdlerized

Từ đồng nghĩa

• bowdlerization